This invention relates to the replication of computer systems.
A number of different computer systems, components, and configurations are used to support a World Wide Web Internet site. A typical combination may include a network, server hardware, specialized software and access codes. A particular combination that an entity uses is referred to as a POD. PODs can vary in size and complexity based upon such factors as the amount of data transmitted, the speed of data transfer, and particular limitations or requirements of hardware.
While a POD may be suitable for a particular application, it might not be suitable for an application that demands different resources and/or configurations. One approach to test whether a POD can support a new application is to reproduce a scaled-down version of the new application and use a separate POD, called a staging POD, to simulate the characteristics of the production POD intended to be used for the full-scale application.
This approach allows some degree of testing, but because the staging POD is not an exact simulation of the production POD, new problems might be discovered only when the application is deployed on the actual production hardware in the production configuration.